Manlius swans are home for the holidays

Manlius, N.Y. - Just in time for Christmas, the Manlius swans are back on their home water.

Manny and Faye and their four cygnets were moved Monday morning from their temporary enclosure on the lower pond in the village of Manlius to the swan pond along Route 92, said Michael Bean, a biologist from Skaneateles who donated Manny and Faye to the village in 2010. The six swans were moved so the swan pond could be drained and repaired.

The cygnets are now half white as they turn from the gray/tan color they had when they were hatched into the all-white birds they will eventually be, Bean said.

By late January or early February, the four cygnets will have to be removed from the pond because the adult swans will be getting ready to mate in the spring, he said. Manny, the male, will run them off the water, a sign that it is time for the young birds to leave, he said.

Bean said one swan will go to a homeowner in Manlius and two will be relocated to property Bean has in Pennsylvania. He is working to relocate the fourth one at Colgate University.

Workers drained the swan pond around Halloween. They used an excavator with a giant vacuum to suck out the muck in the bottom of the pond.

Workers repaired mortar joints, replaced pumps and lighting and upgraded electric service to the fountain.